What do you do to stay/or get in shape?

[jennie.ayana]

It's important for me to eat healthy, (I try, sometimes begrudgingly) and stay active.
So I run (or hike) it's my Zen space, my inner peace...my time away...my daydreaming time...recharge batteries time..
It's a perfect day for a run in Los Angeles

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[Deborah]

I try to eat healthy most of the time while leaving a little room for indulgence.  I also generally exercise everyday with some running three days a week, powerlifting three days a week, and only walking on the seventh day.  The past few weeks I have had to cut back a bit while I'm nursing a groin muscle (adductor) strain but that's almost healed.  It would probably be healed already if I'd rest completely but that's just too much to ask [emoji12].


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[KathyLauren]

I eat vegan, and have done for over 20 years.  My main exercise is walking the dog.  She needs nearly an hour of brisk walking every day.  She's a greyhound.

[Allison S]

I try to eat healthy. But I love sweets and pastries. I usually go for walks. I could use losing a few pounds, especially my stomach/midsection and upper arms.

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[Julia1996]

I eat a lot of vegetable dishes and I do aerobics/cardio type work outs.

[EllenJ2003]

I don't eat the greatest (something that my mom the retired medical clinic lab technician constantly hounds me about), but I have gotten much better about (food) portion control (I've had a tendency since I was young, to eat enough for two people).  I also work out.  No weights for me (especially since my left shoulder was severely dislocated in 1989 due to a car-pedestrian accident [I was the pedestrian] is not up to handling the stress of bench presses, etc.), but I do a fair amount of cardio work.  I can't run anymore (I used to be a competition runner), due to my asthma getting the best of me (I've suffered from exercised induced asthma, since long before I was diagnosed as being asthmatic back in 2003, when a severe asthma attack almost put me in the hospital), and the fact that getting all sweaty from the kind of brutal workouts I used to do, can aggravate my tendency to have dermatitis outbreaks, but I still spend 4 days a week before I start my workday in the company exercise room, doing a terrain profile jog, on a elliptical machine.  It's great for de-stressing, and (as my mom has told me, when I tell her my blood work numbers) helps to maintain things like my cholesterol, triglycerides, etc. at acceptable levels.

I only have time for 20 or 30 minutes on the elliptical machine (my job as a Quality Engineer, can be rather time consuming, with the result that more than occasionally I get out of work late, making additional exercise after work a No Go for me), but it's definitely been worth it for me.  I also make a point of walking everywhere in the plant, instead of taking the adult/senior citizen style tricycle that is located in the QA department (I ignore my wimpy hypochondriac of a male coworker's comments about how it would be so much easier for me to get where I want to go, by using it), and use the stairs instead of the elevator.  Both the walking, and the stair taking can be of a benefit to anybody health-wise, as a means of getting in additional exercise, without having to set aside additional time to do so.

[Julia1996]

I don't do anything outside since I have to avoid much sun exposure but I have a treadmill and exercise bike. Though my dad and brother both regularly go to the gym we have a pretty well equipped home gym in the basement. I don't do anything with weights though because I don't want any muscles. With my doses of hrt and being small anyway I probably couldn't get muscles even if I tried but I wouldn't risk it.

[Allison S]

I don't do anything outside since I have to avoid much sun exposure but I have a treadmill and exercise bike. Though my dad and brother both regularly go to the gym we have a pretty well equipped home gym in the basement. I don't do anything with weights though because I don't want any muscles. With my doses of hrt and being small anyway I probably couldn't get muscles even if I tried but I wouldn't risk it.

I wouldnt wanna gain muscle either... never had much anyway

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[Julia1996]

I wouldnt wanna gain muscle either... never had much anyway

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I never had any muscle either thankfully. My dad and brother both suggested I do some female weight training just to improve my strength and my dad even got some small pink weights. But Im just afraid of getting any kind of muscles.

[Allison S]

I never had any muscle either thankfully. My dad and brother both suggested I do some female weight training just to improve my strength and my dad even got some small pink weights. But Im just afraid of getting any kind of muscles.

I know we don't know each other, but based on this board, I can't imagine you having muscles lol

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[Julia1996]

I know we don't know each other, but based on this board, I can't imagine you having muscles lol

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Lol, yeah my dad and brother told me that I wouldn't get muscles because of my hrt dosages and that I was too small to have any significant muscles anyway and they are probably right. But I have a fear of looking masculine in any possible way.

[Northern Star Girl]

Once a week I go to the local gym with 4 or 5 of my cis women friends, we have lots of fun chatting and we actually workout.  I am not a big weightlifter but I try to keep my body toned and get back some of my stamina that I lost while on 3+ years of HRT.

The several lady friends that I frequently go to the local gym with do not know that I am a trans-woman, I seemed to have passed the frightful locker room scenario, happily, I may add)  Here are some pics of me at the local gym.

(first pic: I stacked 49 inches of weights in record time.)

[SammyHatesGreenEggs]

I run five days a week, and try to be active otherwise.  I couldn't put on muscle even when I was trying to be masculine, and have stopped all upper body work.  When I can sneak it in, I do some squats and lunges.

Diet is much more important though in my opinion.  I try to keep myself around a net of 1900 kcal each day, while still getting a decent amount protein, calcium and nutrients.  Depending on what's going on in my social life, I won't quite follow those guidelines on Saturday or Sunday.  To help ensure I stick to that, I generally eat the same sorts of meals most days and pre-plan as much as possible.

I was at 186lbs when I started to seriously consider transition in October and was at 171 a couple of weeks ago.  I don't really want to go below 170 right now (as of this week, I'm at 173).

[Julia1996]

Once a week I go to the local gym with 4 or 5 of my cis women friends, we have lots of fun chatting and we actually workout.  I am not a big weightlifter but I try to keep my body toned and get back some of my stamina that I lost while on 3+ years of HRT.

The several lady friends that I frequently go to the local gym with do not know that I am a trans-woman, I seemed to have passed the frightful locker room scenario, happily, I may add)  Here are some pics of me at the local gym.

(first pic: I stacked 49 inches of weights in record time.)

Do you use weights at all when you work out?

[Northern Star Girl]

Julia, yes I use weights but not way too heavy but I try to do lots of reps.  It's best to not hurt yourself so more reps with lighter weights does a good job.
Danielle

[jennie.ayana]

Lol, yeah my dad and brother told me that I wouldn't get muscles because of my hrt dosages and that I was too small to have any significant muscles anyway and they are probably right. But I have a fear of looking masculine in any possible way.

That's the number one reason I don't want to do weights...do not want to bulk up...i wouldn't mind to get some definition..like on my abs, and back

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[Deborah]

Bulking up without testosterone is pretty much impossible no matter what someone lifts.


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[EllenJ2003]

Lol, yeah my dad and brother told me that I wouldn't get muscles because of my hrt dosages and that I was too small to have any significant muscles anyway and they are probably right. But I have a fear of looking masculine in any possible way.

Julia, more than likely the weights you'd do, would tone you, rather than bulk you up.  I remember at the Track Team post-season banquet in high school when the girl's track coach (both the girls and boys track teams worked out, and went to track meets together, so the banquet was a joint banquet) joked how so many of the girls on the track team moaned about how they didn't want to do weights (everybody as a part of both track teams' workouts was required to lift weights - the weight regimen was determined by what your track and field specialty was [mine was long sprints {400 meters} and long jump]), because they thought they would end up with "boy muscles."  The girls on track team didn't bulk up at all from doing weights.  Testosterone, and how many muscle cells you have determines how much you bulk up.  Even when I was forced to live in boy mode, I never bulked up much (though I have always had IMO overly muscled calves [which I hate - it's a genetic thing, even dieting and  hormones didn't shrink them down enough IMO]) in my upper body, despite occasionally lifting weights.  I never had much upper body mass (and was helped by the fact that I didn't have ton of testosterone either [I was told in after my first blood work before HRT, that my testosterone level was below normal - as a result of this {coupled with a ton of estrogen receptors, resulting in a lot of HRT results}, my estrogen dosage has always been pretty low]).  You should be OK with lifting light weights.  I'd lift myself (my triceps are starting to look a little flabby), if it weren't for my bum left shoulder.

[Alanna1990]

My heart is "weak" so I don't excercise, but I think I eat healthy, my shape is only the result of my genetics tbh, I'm not able to gain weight but it's fine

[Julia1996]

Julia, more than likely the weights you'd do, would tone you, rather than bulk you up.  I remember at the Track Team post-season banquet in high school when the girl's track coach (both the girls and boys track teams worked out, and went to track meets together, so the banquet was a joint banquet) joked how so many of the girls on the track team moaned about how they didn't want to do weights (everybody as a part of both track teams' workouts was required to lift weights - the weight regimen was determined by what your track and field specialty was [mine was long sprints {400 meters} and long jump]), because they thought they would end up with "boy muscles."  The girls on track team didn't bulk up at all from doing weights.  Testosterone, and how many muscle cells you have determines how much you bulk up.  Even when I was forced to live in boy mode, I never bulked up much (though I have always had IMO overly muscled calves [which I hate - it's a genetic thing, even dieting and  hormones didn't shrink them down enough IMO]) in my upper body, despite occasionally lifting weights.  I never had much upper body mass (and was helped by the fact that I didn't have ton of testosterone either [I was told in after my first blood work before HRT, that my testosterone level was below normal - as a result of this {coupled with a ton of estrogen receptors, resulting in a lot of HRT results}, my estrogen dosage has always been pretty low]).  You should be OK with lifting light weights.  I'd lift myself (my triceps are starting to look a little flabby), if it weren't for my bum left shoulder.

I saw female body builders on TV once and it kind of freaked me out. Not trying to be mean, but they totally looked like guys! My dad and brother were talking about how manly they looked. After seeing those women I didn't want to get near weights!